The Quail 29 



not prove any mysterious power on the bird's 

 part of controlling its scent. The fact was that 

 the quail in question had just completed what 

 might be termed an air bath — a cleansing rush 

 through pure air — it had pitched and squatted 

 where it struck without running at all, thus leav- 

 ing no foot-scent; it was badly scared and had 

 its plumage compressed about it as tightly as 

 possible, and all these things combined for the 

 moment prevented the spread of the telltale odor. 

 By squatting where it struck, the bird literally 

 covered its tracks, i.e. it was over the spot 

 where its feet had touched. Had it run even a 

 few strides, the questing nose would surely have 

 found the trail. The explanation that a dog, 

 fresh from a point, may have his " nose so full of 

 scent " that he is unable to detect a faint trail, is 

 no explanation at all. Good dogs often point 

 newly pitched quail while in the act of retrieving 

 a bird just killed. A dog of the writer's, while 

 holding a quail in his mouth with the wing 

 directly across his nostrils, once pulled up on an- 

 other bird which had not been in its hiding-place 

 more than a minute. Then, if ever, would his 

 nose have been " full of scent," yet he was able to 

 pin the live bird, because in all probability it had 

 run to its hiding-place. 



